DEar Tender-hearted Ones, who have felt the Divine Call of the Father's Love, and have now turned your Faces Sion-ward, doth my Love flow forth unto you from the Fontain and Ocean of Endleſs Life and Love, which at this time conſtrains me thus to write unto you, knowing right well, that the Exerciſes and Tryals you are paſſing through, and the Beſettings of the Enemy, that ye may meet withal, are many, ſince your Faces have been turned Zion-ward, and ſince you have Abandoned and Forſaken Egypts Glory, and are now come down from the Mountains of Prey, having ſeen the Excellency and Beauty that is in him alone, who hath called you with a Holy Call unto Meekneſs and Lowlineſs of Mind, ſaying, Learn of me, for I am meek and Lowly in Heart, and you ſhall find Reſt unto your Souls: Which in meaſure you will come to witneſs, as through Obedience you have learned of him, and with Faithfulneſ, have obeyed his Voice. For no otherwayes can you ever come to witneſs Peace with him, but through Hearkening unto his Voice, and faithfully Obeying the ſame. And thus you will come to be Children of Faithful Abraham, who was ready to offer up his only Son Iſaac at Gods Call, not ſtaggering at the Promiſe, but firmly believing him that had promiſed, whoſe Faith was accounted unto him for Righteouſneſs.

Let none therefore have an Heart of Unbelief, and diſtruſt the Lord, and ſay, Can the Lord furniſh a Table in the Wilderneſs? Can he prepare Bread there? Nor let any think the Time Long, or the Way Tedious, wherein the Lord leads you; For he that believeth maketh not Haſte. But let your Eye be unto him alone, who turneth the Rock into a Standing Water, and the Flint into a Fountain of Waters; who will give Bread to the Hungry, and Water to the Thirſty Souls in his due Time. For there was a time, when the Lord Proved and Tryed Iſrael of Old; who will alſo Prove and Try you. Therefore take heed, that you Murmur not under the ſame, leſt, like Iſrael, you Grieve the Lord, and he cauſe you to fall ſhort of the Promiſed Land. For you muſt not expect, becauſe you are come out of Egypt, and have ſeen the Wonders of the Lord in the Deep, and have ſung the Song of Moſes, that all is over: For there is a Wilderneſs yet to paſs through, and a Swelling Jordan to paſs over, before you will come to the Promiſed Land. I write not this to diſcourage any, but that none might take up a falſe Reſt, or ſit down by the way, and ſo fall ſhort of that Reſt which many are entred into, and made Poſſeſſors off. But that all might be of that Excellent Spirit, as Caleb and Joſhua were of, who inherited the Promiſed Land by following the Lord faithfully, and with full Purpoſe of Heart; notwithſtanding they ſaw many Thouſands fall, and Periſh in the Wilderneſs by reaſon of their Diſobedience towards God.

And be ſure, that no Singularity be embraced or walked in by you; for that will lead to make Rents and Diviſions in the Camp of the Lord, as ſome of that Spirit in dayes paſt did, who ſaid, Hath the Lord only ſpoke by Moſes? You Moſes and Aaron, you take too much upon you; for the Congregation is all Holy, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift you up your ſelves above the Congregation of the Lord? But what befel theſe Oppoſers of Moſes and Aaron? The Earth opened, and ſwallowed them up in the ſight of the People: And the Earthly Part hath ſwallowed and will ſwallow up all ſuch Oppoſers. Wherefore let all be Warned of theſe things, and Watch againſt them in the Light, which diſcovers the Wiles of the Enemy: and take heed, leſt any of you alſo ſhould come to be led away with the Error of the Wicked, and ſo fall from your own Stedfaſtneſs, and there by come to loſe that Simplicity in the Truth which you once enjoyed. But let Others Harms make you to be the more Vigilant, and Beware. For all theſe things were written for your Learning, and your Inſtruction, that ye might not Tempt and Provoke the Lord, as they did, with whom the Lord was grieved Forty Years long, ſo that he ſware in his Wrath, That they ſhould not enter into his Reſt.

And let none look at the ſwelling Jordan, or the Mighty Sons of Anak, nor at the Fenced and Walled Cities; For the Willing and the Obedient ſhall inherit, and dwell in, and eat the Good of the Land. Wherefore let all be encouraged to Travel on; for they that Endure to the End, ſhall reap the End of their Faith, the Salvation of their Souls. Therefore let none faint, nor look at their own Weakneſs, but let them keep their Eye unto the Lord, who is faithful to perform, what he has promis'd and ſpoken by the Mouth of his Prophet, who ſaid, To you that fear my Name, ſhall the Sun of Righteouſneſs ariſe with Healing in his Wings; and ye ſhall go forth, and grow up as Calves in the Stall; and ye ſhall tread down the Wicked, for they ſhall be Aſhes under the Soals of your Feet. So as you dwell & patiently wait in God's Fear, ye will come to witneſs the fulfilling of theſe things in your Meaſures: For it is the Fear of God that keepeth the Heart clean, and is the Beginning of true Wiſdom. And as you dwell in that, you will be made able ſtedfaſtly to reſiſt the Enemy of your Souls, when-ever he appears to draw you into Evil, ſaying unto him, How ſhall I do this Evil, and ſin againſt the Lord? So, the Lord being alwayes thus ſet before you, ye need not fear: for the Wicked One can never touch you, while ye ſtand thus in an holy Awe of Offending the Lord. But if you are not Vigilant, and alwayes Watching in the Light, the Enemy will ſoon prevail, and take you Captive again: For he goes about like a Roaring Lyon, ſeeking whom he may devour: Whoſe Snares and ſubtil Devices are ſo many, that none can eſcape them, but thoſe who thus wait and watch againſt them in the Light.

Wherefore, Dear Hearts, Put on the whole Armour of Light, and in that Light which convinced you all, walk and dwell, and it will bring you unto the perfect Day, in which is no Darkneſs; and thus you will be Witneſſes of the Juſt Man's Path, which is as a ſhining Light, which ſhines more and more unto the perfect Day. So all that come to walk in this Light, will ſee more Light, as one did who ſaid, In thy Light ſhall I ſee more Light. And ſo as this Light increaſes, Darkneſs will decreaſe: for when the Perfect Day is come, then Darkneſs is fled away.

And hither muſt all the Nations come, that are ſaved to walk in the Light, which the Lord will ſend forth more and more, that thoſe who are yet under the Region and Shadow of Death, may come to behold it, and the Glory and Excellency that is in it, which is the Glory, as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth, which a Remnant are come to behold, Glory to God on high for evermore! For Light ſhineth in Darkneſs, though the Darkneſs cannot comprehend it, which we have believed in, and from whom we have received Power to become the Sons and Daughters of God, who is Light, and in whom is no Darkneſs. neither any Variableneſs or Shadow of Turning, but the ſame Yeſter-day, to day and for ever.

And ſo, Dear Tender-Hearted Ones, Keep low in the Holy Truth of God, and that will be your Crown; for true and deep Humility is Real Chriſtianity. For while ye are Meek and Lowly in Heart, ye will bear in your Bodies the Marks of the Lord Jeſus, and then will it be ſeen, whoſe Diſciples ye are. And while the meek Spirit of Jeſus bears Rule in you, that will keep down all Haſtineſs, and Raſh and Unadviſed Words, which you are to dye daily unto, who would live with Chriſt for ever. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again, but when buffeted, ſaid, Father, forgive them. Thus we are to have Chriſt for our Example; who dyed, that we ſhould no more live unto our ſelves, but unto him that dyed for us, leaving us an Example, that we ſhould follow his Steps, in whom was no Sin, neither was Guile found in his Mouth. For we are but as other People, except we live unto Chriſt, who dyed for us, the Benefit of whoſe Death none will reap, but ſuch as live unto him, in whom we have believed; in whom is Life, and his Life is the Light of Men. And though to the Carnal Profeſſors he is a ſtumbling-Block, and to the Learned (ſo accounted) Fo liſhneſs, yet unto us that have believed, the Power and Wiſdom of God.

So let all be content with, and faithful unto the Meaſure of Gods Grace, that unto you hath appeared. And let the tender Mercies of God towards you be o •• en in your Remembrance, that none, like Jeſurun, wax fat, and kick againſt their Maker, and ſo through Diſobedience looſe the Enjoyment of his Preſence, and then come to ſay, as Saul once did, The Lord is departed from me, and anſwereth me no more. But that you all, like faithful Joſhua, may alwayes feel that Noble Reſolution dwelling and abiding in your Hearts, I and my Houſe will ſerve the Lord. For his Service is perfect Freedom unto thoſe that abide therein, and deſire to live in his Courts, eſteeming one day there above a Thouſand elſe-where.

And let Truth grow, and flouriſh in you, that you may be as Trees planted by the Water-Brook, whoſe Leaves are alwayes green bringing forth Fruit in due Seaſon unto God, which muſt be Holineſs, the End whereof will be Everlaſting Life. For the Wages of Sin is Death, but the Gift of God, which you have believed in, is Eternal Life unto all that abide in the ſame. For you know right well that when you were Servants unto Sin, you were free from Righteouſneſs; and what Fruit had you then in thoſe things, whereof you are now aſhamed? Therefore let not Sin reign in your Mortal Bodies, neither obey any, but reſiſt and abſtain from every Appearance thereof, and yield yourſelves unto God, as thoſe that are alive from the Dead, and your Members as Inſtruments of Righteouſneſs unto him; and obey the Form of Doctrine, which hath been often delivered unto you by many of the Lord's Faithful Servants, who have not loved their Lives unto Death for the Truth and your Sakes, for whom they have travelled in Birth, that Chriſt might be formed in you; whom you ought to Honour and Eſteem with double Honour in the Lord, whoſe Meſſage they have with Faithfulneſs delivered unto you, Woing and Beſeeching you in Chriſt's ſtead to be reconciled unto God, whoſe Will is your Sanctification.

Wherefore as you all have received Chriſt Jeſus, ſo walk in him, not Adorning nor F • ſhioning your ſelves according to the World, which lies in Wickedneſs; but let your Adorning be the Meek Spirit and Self-denying Life of Jeſus, bearing the Image of the Heavenly Man, as you have born the Image of the Earthly, which muſt be put off with his Deeds, before you can witn • ſs to be cloathed with Zeal as a Cloak, and Righteouſneſs as a Garment. And as your Lights thus ſhine before Men, your Heavenly Father will come to be Glorified; For herein is, and will he be Glorified, by your bringing forth much frui • . So be fr • it • ul, and always abounding in the Work o • the Lord, and your Labour will not be in vain in him, whoſe Mercies are over all his Works, and with-holds no Good Thing from thoſe that w • lk Uprightly.

Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the Dead our Lord • eſus Chriſt through the Blood of the Everlaſting Covenant, Sanctifie you throughout, and preſerve you Blameleſs, that you may be made Perfect in every Good Work to do his Will, working in you that which is Well-pleaſing in his Sight through Chriſt Jeſus, in whom we have believed, is the Hearty Deſire and Travel of